PEOPLE all over the world went wild when they heard that viral gaming hit Flappy Bird would be making a comeback, but more disturbing details about the upcoming game have been revealed.
Flappy Bird’s return was initially met with excitement by fans before they began to look at the fine print.
Firstly, fans noticed that the game is in no way associated with the original creator Dong Nguyen, who famously removed the game from stores soon after launch.
A statement from the new Flappy Bird Foundation says: “The Flappy Bird Foundation, a new team of passionate fans committed to sharing the game with the world, has spearheaded the acquisition of the official trademark.
“Additionally, they have acquired the rights for the original game and character from Piou Piou vs. Cactus, the mobile title that originally inspired the iconic bird.”
Piou Piou vs Cactus has never been confirmed to have inspired Flappy Bird and this genre of game long precedes this release.
Nguyen claims that the game was inspired by keeping a ping-pong ball in the air as long as possible, and partially by the desire to make a mobile game with easier to understand mechanics than Angry Birds.
He has also come out to say: “No, I have no relation with their game. I did not sell anything.”
Further, Venture Beat investigated the filings for the game’s trademark and found it had been acquired for free by Gametech Holdings LLC after Nguyen’s trademark expired.
Nguyen had no desire to bring Flappy Bird back, and had shut down the game initially due to guilt over the game’s addictive nature.
However, Nguyen’s disassociation from the upcoming game isn’t the only thing that’s been concerning fans.
While the original game was completely free-to-play, only earning revenue from the in-game adverts, fans spotted a new premium currency, which means people will have to spend real money in order to play.
Worse than this is that fans began to notice links to cryptocurrency as part of the project.
Concerned fans noticed that the project was being followed on social media by numerous accounts that are linked to crypto and NFTs.
Digging into the website, they found that numerous mentions of cryptocurrency and Web 3 have been removed.
It read: “Artists, developers and creators, can build, play, and earn with the legendary Flappy Bird IP.
“Flappy Bird will now be the world’s first open-source, community owned web 2 and web 3 game.”
There was also an option to sign up to a newsletter where you could label yourself as a Crypto Enthusiast.
Nguyen finished his initial statement by writing, “I also don’t support crypto.”
We reached out to The Flappy Bird Foundation for comment, and they have not responded at the time of writing.
They have also not made a public statement regarding the purchase of the trademark, or the crypto connection.
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